Some Hearts Last Forever
by BlingBling021
Summary: Giving up already? Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that. RxS
1. They Say That Cold Hearts Last Forever

Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
Warnings: Some yaoi, weirdness, angsty, kind of AU.  
  
Probably part 1 of 2 or 3. First time writing Kingdomhearts fic.  
  
Please read and review.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Sora tugged madly at the chains binding him to the wall. When he found the resistance just as strong as ever yet again, it finally sunk in that he had no chance.  
  
"Heh. Finally come to terms with your destiny, eh, Sora?" sneered Riku, just inches away from his face.  
  
No.  
  
Not Riku.  
  
Riku was gone.  
  
Forever.  
  
"Get away from me," Sora spat, his voice breaking as tears welled up in his eyes.  
  
Damnit, Riku, you ruined it. You ruined everything. It wasn't meant to be this way. None of this was ever supposed to happen.  
  
"Aww," mocked Riku. "Is the big hero uncomfortable? Would you like me to change that for you?" He moved closer.  
  
Sora backed away in rage, his breath coming in ragged gasps. "I said, LEAVE ME ALONE."  
  
Well, buddy, I hope you're happy now. Happy now that I'm broken and alone, how you always saw yourself to be.  
  
You even lied to yourself. That's sad, Riku.  
  
Yes, you always had to be the big dramatic. The center of attention. The best. Well, you certainly got my attention. You had me at your beck and call from day one. You were my idol, and I worshipped you with everything I had.  
  
And where are you now? What have you done with the faith that so many bestowed upon you without question?  
  
You betrayed it.  
  
You left me.  
  
And now you're never coming back.  
  
"I think you need to be taught another lesson, boy," Ansem hissed, letting his true form emerge.  
  
He was never good enough to even merely lay his eyes upon your body, much less steal your soul and lock it away. I hate him. I hate him with every fiber, every shread of my being.  
  
And I hate you, too.  
  
You had to be weak. You always put up that facade, that mask of ice that never let anyone through.  
  
But that parasite broke through your steel, far too easily.  
  
You let the darkness eat you from the inside out, you idiot.  
  
You never even saw it coming.  
  
The ice blocked your vision constantly.  
  
That stupid, ever-present wall between you and the rest of the world that you tried your very best to make impenentrable.  
  
But there was something I never told you.  
  
You messed up.  
  
That's a shock, isn't it? That you, the most perfect, godlike being to ever walk the earth, would have your walls breached by a simple human boy, on a day like any other.  
  
But it was different, somehow. It was different because that day, that day I saw you. The real you.  
  
And I fell in love.  
  
Ansem stopped, and looked at Sora through golden eyes. Eyes that were empty, just like his heart.  
  
"Are you ready?" he asked. Sora tensed up.  
  
No. I'm not ready. Not ready for any of this. But I don't really have a choice.  
  
Just like my heart didn't.  
  
"No," Sora just barely managed to breathe out.  
  
I wasn't prepared, Riku. Why couldn't you understand that? Why did you have to do this to me?  
  
I hate you.  
  
I'm crazy about you.  
  
But you aren't here.  
  
I'm forced to talk to myself like a fool, for I still mourn you, and it hurts. It hurts like nothing else I have ever felt for anyone else before.  
  
Only you.  
  
I won't let myself be lost like you were, my love, for I am stronger than you were. My heart needs no walls.  
  
Sora raised his head, his eyes suddenly crackling with determination. "But I will fight you to the death. Because unlike everyone else," he whispered, "I remember."  
  
And I do.  
  
I remember the way the sun reflected off your sparkling hair, the way your eyes twinkled when you had an idea, even the way you would look at me when you thought I wasn't watching.  
  
I remember everything about you.  
  
And I remember that day.  
  
The day I fell for you.  
  
They say a person's eyes are windows to their soul. They are right.  
  
It was just another day, filled with the same things as always. We would laugh and roll about on the sand for hours, stopping occasionally to fight or swim.  
  
Those were the best days of our lives, though we never knew it until they were taken away from us.  
  
Another bitter irony.  
  
You were the first to tire from our daily routine, our way of giving life meaning.  
  
You started to drift away.  
  
I was so worried. My whole world revolved around you. Sometimes I think it still does.  
  
We searched all your spots, Kairi and I, but we couldn't find you anywhere. Deciding to split up, she took one side of the island, and I the other.  
  
And so I went to our traditional sparring area, only to find Tidus and Wakka engaged in battle. You weren't there. Neither of them had seen you, either.  
  
I remember looking hopefully toward the paopu tree, your tree, and finding disappointment once again. Frustratedly, I had taken one of the legendary fruit and chucked it toward the waterfall.  
  
I heard it clang against the top of the shack, and knew I hadn't been strong enough. When I retrieved it and was washing the sand off it in the pool, the slightest hint of a footprint from a creature that had been heading toward the base of the tree caught my eye.  
  
Yes, I had thought. The secret hideout. I had not entered there for years, not since you, Kairi, and I were very young. But why would you be there, of all places?  
  
I walked to the entrance of the neglected spot and walked inside.  
  
Right now, I feel an overwhelming homesickness for the spot I had never cared about. I want it back. I want it all back.  
  
But it will never come to me, and I cannot go to it.  
  
It is lost.  
  
Just like you.  
  
I had crawled noiselessly inside, to find you running your fingers across a carving on the wall. Something was not right. I could tell that simply by the feeling in the air.  
  
But the thing that was truly the sign that the world had gone wrong, was sliding down your cheek.  
  
A tear.  
  
My whole universe is now inside out. All from one tear.  
  
"Riku. . . . ."  
  
At my whisper, your head turned, and our eyes locked.  
  
For what seemed an eternity, my vision was filled with the picture of your soul.  
  
It still haunts me.  
  
I saw in your eyes, the eyes of a being not from this earth, the eyes of a being for whom everything was perfect and mother nature obeyed every whim, a small child, lost, alone, and frightened to death.  
  
Time stopped somewhere in there, and waves of confusion and sadness crashed against my heart, all blurring together incomprehensively.  
  
But I remember it all, just as clearly as I remember you.  
  
Before I knew it, your lips were on mine and we were gripping each other as if for life itself.  
  
You pulled me to the ground and pinned me, us making out fiercely, your tears starting to overflow onto my face as well. You started to strip me desperately, and I have no doubts that I would have lost my virginity to you then and there had we not been interrupted.  
  
I would have been readily willing, too.  
  
Anything for you.  
  
Your wish was my command.  
  
But then the ever resonating voice of Selphie interrupted our moment. She had gasped our names upon seeing us as she entered to do her own secret little activities. I hate her, as well.  
  
The moment was lost, but the memory lived on, as it even still does.  
  
As you slowly untangled yourself from my body, your aqua orbs drifted up to meet my own brilliant blue ones, and something changed between us.  
  
What exactly it was, I cannot say.  
  
But it was in that moment that I realized why you mattered so much to me, why I would give up the world for you.  
  
I adored you. I worshipped you.  
  
And I loved you.  
  
And those feelings expanded to an alarming size over the span of a few seconds.  
  
But we never spoke of that again.  
  
You would come to sit with me some evenings, when no one else was watching. But you never said anything to acknowledge that something had happened between us.  
  
I remember, it was one of those nights, when suddenly I burst into tears, the confusion becoming too much to bear.  
  
I was happy, sad, angry, desperate, and longing all thrown into a horrible mixture.  
  
You looked at me in alarm and asked me what was wrong.  
  
With one look at you, my emotions overwhelmed me and I ran.  
  
I ran away from it all.  
  
But I should've known that it was destined for you to follow me.  
  
Just as it was destiny that I ran to the most obvious place on the entire island.  
  
The paopu tree.  
  
You caught up and grabbed my shoulders, shaking me. My tears would not stop.  
  
I think it was more out of desperation than anything else that you kissed me.  
  
Only this time around, I was the one on the brink.  
  
When we came up for air once again, you cupped my chin in your hands, and looked into my soul.  
  
Just as I had yours.  
  
I am still not sure what exactly you saw there.  
  
You climbed up the paopu tree and retrieved a fruit. You looked at it, then at me, then back at the fruit again. You made a decision. You broke the paopu in half.  
  
And offered one of the halves to me.  
  
With that simple gesture, my will to live was restored. And I think that, after more frozen seconds, when I took it from you, smiling weakly, yours was too.  
  
We ate in silence, and then our lips claimed each other's once again.  
  
That was the most perfect night of my life.  
  
But now I know the truth.  
  
Perfection is never more than an illusion.  
  
Never.  
  
For the very next day was the day I was sucked into this nightmare.  
  
They say life sucks and then you die. They are right again.  
  
I would give anything to know where they get this wisdom.  
  
Ansem smirked at Sora, his canines glinting.  
  
"Then it is time, boy."  
  
Two more tears slipped down Sora's cheek.  
  
"I will do what I must," he said defiantly, his eyes betraying his fear. And his determination.  
  
Did you know that paopu's a ripoff?  
  
No truth whatsoever in that damned legend.  
  
Because you should have to forever remain a part of my life.  
  
And you're gone.  
  
But I will never forget you, Riku.  
  
Even when everyone else does, I shall carry you in my heart to the end of all time.  
  
Ansem once took me back to my island how it used to be, knowing that that would torture me like nothing else could.  
  
I hate him.  
  
For when I ran to the secret place, I discovered the truth.  
  
On that day, eons ago, you were brushing your fingers over the wall, when you were crying.  
  
And the answer to my pain was there all along.  
  
You were brushing your fingers over a carving. An inscription that you had made, putting everything you had into it.  
  
And all it said was three small words.  
  
The three small words that bring about the fall of so many.  
  
I love you.  
  
It was right next to a drawing of me.  
  
And that scarred me deeply, lighting a flame inside.  
  
Now, that flame is burning with more passion then ever before.  
  
You said those words to me.  
  
But I never said them to you.  
  
I think you knew, somehow, all along.  
  
But I never got to say it.  
  
And that tears me apart.  
  
The chains binding Sora fell to the ground noiselessly.  
  
Ansem raised his hands, and Sora felt the very ground beneath him morphing. His eyesight swirled as he was sucked into another dimension.  
  
One that was far too familiar.  
  
Sora released all his tears as he looked around at his island, destroyed and distorted to the liking of Ansem's twisted heart. Determination set in, and his heart hardened. He set his battle face, and advanced toward his enemy.  
  
But Riku, I remember.  
  
And I will fight for you.  
  
I will not let my heart be ruined.  
  
I won't be like you.  
  
I'm not going to die.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
tbc? 


	2. And That Soft Ones Never Do

Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
Warnings: Some yaoi, weirdness, angsty, a little AU  
  
Part 2 of 4. This chapter is kind of different from the last one. It takes a lot of my heart to write this, so please excuse it if it's not as good as last time. I'm not that experienced a writer, but I am trying.  
  
Please read and review.  
  


* * *

  
Ansem turned toward Sora and smirked.  
  
"Just look at this tiny place."  
  
You were always the one that said that. That bastard is nothing but a cheap copy of your glory, designed to demolish my longing.  
  
He stole your heart, your soul, and your life, and now he has to steal my grief for you as well?!  
  
"To the heart seeking freedom, this island is a prison, surrounded by water."  
  
Stop.  
  
Just stop.  
  
Please.  
  
Ansem laughed and leered at Sora cruelly.  
  
"And so, this boy, sought to escape from his prison!" He trailed off.  
  
"But he did escape," whispered Sora into the wind, fresh tears sprouting.  
  
I never looked at it that way before.  
  
Was this. . . . what you truly wanted? To just. . . . leave?  
  
No.  
  
That would mean you didn't love me.  
  
I can't believe that.  
  
I can't.  
  
"But, like all his other puny, worthless efforts, he failed. Those who know nothing can understand nothing." Ansem turned to Sora. "And you are just like him. Nothing."  
  
Something froze.  
  
Sora's mind stopped.  
  
Nothing. . . . . .  
  
The tears also became stationery.  
  
How can he know. . . . what you said. . . . to. . . . Kairi. . . .?  
  
All those years ago. . . . . did you really love me even then?  
  
Nothing. . . . . .  
  
You are nothing. . . . . .  
  
. . . . . . Riku. . . . . . . .  
  
Never.  
  
You are -not- nothing.  
  
You may be gone, but I will always be here to ensure that you live on.  
  
The tears again started their journey down Sora's face.  
  
You made me a promise, Riku!  
  
The minute that paopu touched your lips, you were bonded to me!  
  
I remember asking you how long it would last. . . .  
  
And you. . . . you told me. . . .  
  
. . . . . . ."Always and forever, Sora," whispered Riku, smiling softly. He tilted the brunette's head upward so that their foreheads rested on each other's. "Always and forever.". . . . . . .  
  
Sora let out a cry of rage and hurled himself toward Ansem.  
  
"I HATE YOU!" he shrieked as he swung his Keyblade with all he had straight at Ansem's neck.  
  
Ansem sneered and summoned a Heartless to block the blow, as if without any effort at all.  
  
"Nothing," he hissed, looking Sora straight in the eye. Sora dropped to his knees, screaming and clutching his hair.  
  
GET OUT OF MY HEAD!  
  
Those eyes. . . . those empty eyes. . . . haunting me. . . .  
  
Riku. . . . please. . . . come back. . . .  
  
I CAN'T TAKE THIS!  
  
Sora screamed.  
  
He screamed his soul out, no longer having control over his body.  
  
He vented out his frustration, his pain, his terror, and his love, all in one resounding note that echoed into the silent abyss, travelling to the end of time for all to hear.  
  
All did hear.  
  
And someone awoke.  
  
Sora went hoarse, and his voice faltered into nothing. He lay in the sand, panting, for a very long time.  
  
I. . . . I failed.  
  
I don't know what to do.  
  
And I. . . . don't think I even care anymore.  
  
My heart. . . . it's empty.  
  
It's gone.  
  
My god. . . .  
  
Ansem. . . . damn you. . . .  
  
What did you do to me?  
  
"Your silence is boring me, boy," snapped Ansem irritably. "Have you finally given in to the inevitable?"  
  
Sora raised his head, his own blank eyes mirroring those of the one he hated so much.  
  
Is this what happened to you?  
  
Did you just become. . . . empty?  
  
I can't feel anything.  
  
It's. . . . cold.  
  
So cold.  
  
But I remember your arms. . . .  
  
They were warm. When I was in them, nothing could hurt me. I was invincible.  
  
Just like you.  
  
I remember. . . . the time when I first saw you after all this happened.  
  
You were overjoyed to have found me, and even though you didn't show it, I could see it in your eyes.  
  
I smiled and said that everything was okay.  
  
But when I reached out to touch you. . . . you had already gone.  
  
I don't understand you, Riku.  
  
You turn my world upside down and inside out.  
  
I hate you.  
  
But no matter how many times I tell myself that, I still know I'm lying.  
  
Because you are everything to me.  
  
My universe.  
  
My all.  
  
And I love you.  
  
So much.  
  
And there I go again. Talking about things of the past.  
  
But I want to know. . . . what happened.  
  
What was it that made you turn against me?  
  
Ansem attacked, forcing Sora out of his thoughts and onto his feet.  
  
But all the while he was fighting, even though he was doing his best to be at the top of his game, he couldn't help but let his mind wander. . . .  
  
I never will be as good a fighter as you are.  
  
You were always better than me.  
  
But. . . . Kairi. . . . . .  
  
It was many years back, in our old life. I was only about ten or eleven at the time.  
  
I was looking for the both of you, to get you to come swimming with me, when I discovered you by the forest of coconut trees.  
  
Thinking that it would be fun to sneak up and scare you, I circled around from the back. When I got within hearing range, however, it became apparent that you were not simply talking as friends.  
  
I saw you backing Kairi into a tree, snarling something at her, while she was only looking terrorized and confused. . . . . . .  
  
"Stay away from him, you hear?!" Riku growled.  
  
"Why should I?" asked Kairi defiantly. "He's my friend too, you know!" The elder boy's eyes flashed with hatred.  
  
"No. . . . Sora is mine." Kairi glared.  
  
"He doesn't -belong- to any--OH!" Riku backhanded her across the face.  
  
"Shut up, wench," he hissed, advancing on her.  
  
The last of Kairi's resistance crumbled, and she flinchingly slid to the ground in fear. Sora was behind a tree not far away, frozen in place. Riku bent down so that his face was right in Kairi's.  
  
"Sora is mine," he said dangerously. "Remember that."  
  
Then the boy straightened up again, smiled, and offered his friend a hand.  
  
I'll never forget the look in your eyes on that day.  
  
Never.  
  
Looking back on it now, it's not a surprise that Kairi never liked you much.  
  
When she thought I wasn't looking, I could tell she flat out hated you.  
  
Which I now realize that I could never do.  
  
Because, deep down, my love will always be stronger.  
  
Time seemed to be going in slow motion as Sora struck what he thought was the winning blow to Ansem.  
  
The creature of darkness screamed, and the dimension swirled around him and Sora once again.  
  
The lovesick brunette found himself confronted by a gigantic ship of sorts, with Ansem near the top. He narrowed his eyes and charged at his adversary, but suddenly felt nothing beneath him.  
  
"AAA!" Sora exclaimed in shock and he suddenly started to fall. . . . .  
  
Wh-what?!  
  
He started to fall, his head whipping around in cunfusion, tears of anger leaking out.  
  
What happened?!  
  
I. . . . I can't get to Ansem!  
  
But I. . . . I have to kill him!  
  
That's the only way!  
  
His vision teared over as the ship grew smaller and smaller.  
  
Sora thrashed about, even though he knew it was no use.  
  
How can it all end here?!  
  
It wasn't supposed to happen like this!  
  
I. . . . I can't believe it. . . . .  
  
Riku. . . . you're. . . . you're not going to be kept alive. . . . .  
  
You'll forever stay dead, where you are right now. . . . .  
  
But. . . . . please. . . . . Riku. . . . .  
  
Wait.  
  
Who is Riku?  
  
Sora's mind drew a blank. He couldn't remember a thing.  
  
He went numb inside as he felt himself fall.  
  
He. . . . was too weak.  
  
He had always been too weak.  
  
Tears silently streamed down his face as he closed his eyes, accepting his fate.  
  
Sora felt the wind rush past him as he began to plummet into oblivion.  
  
And then. . . .  
  
"Giving up already? Come on Sora. I thought you were stronger than that."  
  
His eyes snapped open.  
  
I remember. . . .  
  
. . . . . . . . Riku? . . . . . .  
  
Oh my god. . . . . . . . YOU'RE ALIVE. . . . .  
  
Sora suddenly felt the flame within him flare into a bonfire. With a surge of power, he soared upward, turning to face the astonished Ansem.  
  
He smirked and raised his Keyblade. "Ansem. . . . go to hell."  
  
My love. . . .  
  
I made you a promise.  
  
And I will fight for you.  
  
Always and forever. . . .  
  


* * *

  
tbc?  
  
Before I leave this chapter, I just want to say thank you to my reviewers Rinoki Rio, VixettaremIx, Sora Otaku, ME. ^^, Ocean-eyed Songstress, and LeafKiD. I wrote this story when I got confused and depressed over someone that I care very deeply for. Thank you for supporting it, him, and me.  
  
Hope this didn't suck too much. Wasn't feeling as sad as last time. . . . 


	3. But Now That We Are Back Together

Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
Warnings: Some yaoi, weirdness, angsty, a little AU  
  
Part 3 of 4. Ending still to be decided; tragedy or reunion. I'm sorry if this chapter goes a little fast.  
  
Please read and review.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
With one last blow, Sora sliced Ansem through his empty heart.  
  
The fiend shrieked in agony. Sora was blinded by a flash of white light, and time and space once again defied all laws set before them.  
  
He was floating in an ocean of nothingness.  
  
Riku?! Where are you?!  
  
He yelled mentally and verbally. . . .  
  
But recieved no answer.  
  
"Please!" Sora cried out desperately. His tears crystallized on his cheeks and broke off. "I need you!"  
  
I need you. . . . .  
  
. . .I need you. . . . .  
  
. . . . . .I need you. . . . .  
  
He listened for a few moments, then collapsed, crying, in weary despair.  
  
"Sora. . . ." a voice suddenly whispered to him. The brunet whipped his head around wildly in search for the source of the sound, but all he could see was swirling smoke.  
  
"Riku!" he cried. "Where are you?! Please, come back to me!"  
  
"Shh, my love," the voice soothed. "You're so close now. . . . I'll be with you. . . ."  
  
Sora felt warmth flood into his body, as arms of shadow wrapped around his exhausted form, covering his back, shoulders, and chest.  
  
"Riku," he choked softly to the mist. "What happens now? I'm. . . lost. . . ."  
  
"Follow your heart," blew the voice. "You have to believe. . . ."  
  
"I. . . . I miss you," Sora breathed brokenly. "And it hurts." He squeezed his eyes shut and lowered his voice to where it was almost inaudible. "It hurts so much. . . ."  
  
A deep laugh echoed around the darkness. With a bright flash of hellfire Ansem emerged, fully regenerated, his eyes gleaming with malice. The shadow of Riku's soul darted away just as quickly as it had come.  
  
"No!" Sora exclaimed into the void. "Don't leave me!"  
  
"Stop your whining, boy," Ansem sneered down at him. Sora spun around with horror and rage.  
  
"You!" he screamed at his rival. "Why are you back?! I killed you!" Ansem's grin widened.  
  
"Yes, me," he smirked. "Why do you look so surprised, fool? The darkness lurks in all places; in the holes, behind the stars, -everywhere-," he spat. "You cannot destroy it. Just as you cannot destroy me. For I -am- the darkness!"  
  
Sora almost roared with frustration, which only furthered Ansem's amusement.  
  
"The darkness, however, can vanquish both the light -and- the shadows," continued the demon smugly. "Just as I disposed of your 'friend'."  
  
Sora narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists, breathing heavily.  
  
"Shut up," he hissed venomously.  
  
He lies.  
  
You're still here with me.  
  
You have to be. . . . .  
  
You have to come back. . . .  
  
No.  
  
I have to stop -lying- to myself.  
  
It only makes me weaker!  
  
No matter how much I might hate it, I know that he killed you that day.  
  
Right before my very eyes.  
  
It was in that damned castle, Hollow Bastion.  
  
Hollow.  
  
How appropriate.  
  
Before we started our fight, you had still been in there, somewhere.  
  
For your eyes still shone with deep sadness, even as your body tried its best to send me to my grave.  
  
But after I won. . . . then he got angry.  
  
His mind control was failing, and you were fighting to return to me.  
  
We will always be a team, Riku.  
  
And we were winning.  
  
That coward got desperate, and did the only thing he could to ensure that we never prevailed.  
  
The darkness had been too weak.  
  
I remember every detail of when he shoved you out of your body, in a transparent, spirit form. He then used magic to knock you unconcious, so that I didn't even have the pleasure of seeing your eyes.  
  
No matter how deep down you had been within his grasp, he wasn't affected in the least as he raised his own tainted Keyblade, which had started to glow bloodred, and looked me straight in the eye.  
  
As his gaze pierced through me, he plunged the knife into your heart.  
  
I felt pain electricute me like I had never felt before, nor will ever feel again.  
  
As he stabbed you repeatedly, with each wound he uttered a word.  
  
"Always."  
  
"And."  
  
"Forever."  
  
I hate him.  
  
I foolishly attacked, and he captured me and took me away.  
  
And now, here I am.  
  
This is what I have become.  
  
A worthless shell, hating everything.  
  
Even you.  
  
And my love for you the only thing keeping me going.  
  
One thing about you that I am puzzled by.  
  
You hardly ever smile.  
  
Sure, you laugh, smirk, and even twitch your lips upward, but you have never truly smiled.  
  
Maybe you were destined for the darkness.  
  
I'll never know.  
  
For when you disappeared in that exploding flash of light, you left.  
  
Gone without a trace.  
  
Until these moments right now.  
  
"All hearts begin in darkness, and all so end," growled Ansem's voice, snapping Sora back into reality. "Even yours."  
  
Sora stared.  
  
. . . . . Mine?  
  
My heart?  
  
Is that why I failed. . . .?  
  
No!  
  
You were just here with me two minutes ago!  
  
I didn't fail!  
  
I couldn't have!  
  
But Ansem said. . . .  
  
Something clicked in Sora's brain.  
  
That must mean. . . . oh god. . . .  
  
All this time. . . . I've been so stupid. . . .  
  
He. . . . he lied!  
  
Darkness -needs- light to exist, and light needs the darkness!  
  
Darkness is -weak-!  
  
It -has- no power alone!  
  
That's it!  
  
"No," said Sora suddenly, stopping an advancing Ansem in his tracks.  
  
"What?" he spat.  
  
"I know now, without a doubt," the Keyblade master said, placing his hands on his chest. "KingdomHearts. . . . is LIGHT!"  
  
The door slammed open, and a brightness like none have ever seen poured out, engulfing Ansem. The dimension started to rumble  
  
"W. . . what?!" Ansem gasped as his body started to disentigrate before his eyes. He turned his shocked eyes toward Sora, mouthing in madness and fear. "The. . . . Light. . . ." he gasped out, and with those words, his body detonated in a shower of shadow, and the remains were destroyed in the blink of an eye by the light.  
  
"Sora!"  
  
The Keyblade master heard a voice call to him, and sprinted toward the doors as fast as the wind.  
  
With a shriek of agony the abyss began to be sucked away around him, and as he jerked his head around, he saw Kairi, surrounded by Heartless trying to drag her into the darkness.  
  
"K-Kairi?!" he screamed.  
  
"Sora, you have to close the door!" she shouted desperately, fighting with all she was worth, but losing. "It's the only way! AAA!" One of the Heartless bit her fiercely on the leg.  
  
"Kairi!" cried Sora, starting to run after her. "Hold on!"  
  
"DO IT!" the girl shrieked. "DO IT NOW OR--" She was cut off as the Heartless mobbed her and she melted into blackness.  
  
"KAIRI!" Sora screamed. "RAGH!" He let out a raged grunt as he turned on his heel and ran back to the door, every bit of matter around him swirling into a dimensionhole, soul cries and tornado winds at a deafening level.  
  
He threw his body against the door with all of his strength, and pushed desperately.  
  
"Close!" he demanded frantically.  
  
It refused to weild, and the shrieks around him became louder.  
  
"NO!"  
  
He jerked away from the door and tore out his Keyblade, brandishing it in fury. It started to glow.  
  
"In the name of light and darkness, of love and hate," he commanded raggedly, tears forming in his eyes. "Kairi. . . and. . . Riku. . . ." He closed his eyes in pain; his Keyblade starting to shine even more brightly.  
  
Sora wiped away his tears, then looked up with determination. "I order you, as the Keyblade Master. . . . Shut away the darkness!"  
  
A burst of heat erupted from his Keyblade, burning his hands and shaking his arm violently. He could not let go.  
  
A seal burst into fire on the door as Sora screamed in pure agony, and it slowly began to close. When it door had fallen back into place, the world trembled again and a Keyhole appeared.  
  
Sora's Keyblade began to suck in all the light from around it, then, as a tear from its master struck its hilt, one final beam of light blasted from the tip and hit the hole. With an earsplitting explosion, the door disappeared in a flash of white light.  
  
The shockwaves knocked the brunet to the ground, and he rolled over and covered his head.  
  
The Keyblade cooled, and allowed him to release his grip on it.  
  
Sora angrily thrust it into the air, where it was sucked up into the void. . . . which grew bigger.  
  
Everything emitted a shrill cry in blinding wrath as it flew by, vacuumed up by the black hole, and Sora clung to the sandy floor for dear life.  
  
The sharp sounds echoed and swirled around him until he was driven out of his mind, the images flaring over and over. . . .  
  
Suddenly, it all stopped.  
  
There was dead silence.  
  
Sora cracked an eye open, to cautiously survey his surroundings, and was met with the sight of a velvety, deep navy blue sky in which millions of stars glittered about him.  
  
His eyes, still red from crying, he opened fully in mystification. Pricks of light surrounded him in all directions as far as the eye could see, shimmering in pacific quietness.  
  
"Where. . . . am I?" he whispered to himself.  
  
His body was seemingly walking on air in the middle of the universe, and as he looked up, starlike worlds began raining down around him. He gazed at the beautiful sight in wonder, and caught one of the sparkles on his hand.  
  
It was Destiny Islands.  
  
Sora suddenly began to cry.  
  
He cried for himself, his friends, and. . . . everything.  
  
He had fulfilled his task.  
  
He had saved them all.  
  
But he had lost everything he had loved in the process.  
  
Well. . . . I guess this is it.  
  
Here. . . the end of all things.  
  
. . . . Why?  
  
Why did it have to be -me-?  
  
How I wish everything could've happened so differently.  
  
How I wish for it all back, the good, and the evil.  
  
But no.  
  
I am here.  
  
Here to be at peace forever.  
  
Sora held out his hand, and the tiny world floated out into the air, soon fading in the darkness.  
  
The brunet let a sad smile grace his lips, as his eyes watered.  
  
I need to stop being so selfish.  
  
Now, I know that you are safe.  
  
Without me, perhaps, but you'll always be in my heart.  
  
"Riku. . . ." Sora sighed, a tear slipping down. "I know you can't hear me, but wherever you are, I want you to know that I said goodbye. . . ." His voice cracked, and he held a hand to his heart, looking up. "And know that I'll remember you forever."  
  
Two more tears escaped.  
  
It had been so long, and so hard. . . .  
  
"I know that you didn't keep your promise," he continued shakily, his voice filled with emotion. "But I forgive you, love. I forgive you. . . ." Sora broke down and collapsed, crying his heart out, where he intended to stay for eternity.  
  
"You underestimate me, Sora. I'm a man of my word, and I -always- keep my promises."  
  
Sora froze.  
  
Not daring to believe what he had just heard, he slowly raised his head, eyes widening in disbelief.  
  
Riku was kneeled in front of him holding out his hand, eyes glimmering with the same playfulness that they had held all those years ago.  
  
"R. . . . Riku," Sora gasped in astonishment and doubt.  
  
Riku nodded.  
  
Sora suddenly beamed and launched himself towards the other, tears streaming down his cheeks. Riku's eyes also glistened, and a single salty droplet escaped.  
  
Time seemed to slow down as Sora lept forward, hurling himself into the other boy's embrace. The once Keyblade master positively cried a river as they squeezed each other to death for what seemed like an eternity.  
  
"Oh Riku," he sniffed. "I thought that. . . . that. . . . you were gone from me forever!" Riku squeezed his eyes shut as he held Sora more tightly.  
  
"I would die before I left you," he said in a ragged voice.  
  
"But you did!" sobbed Sora. "You did!" He gave a shuddering wail.  
  
Try as he might, Riku could not escape more tears from sliding down his cheeks. He put his hands on Sora's shoulders and tilted the other's chin up, so that their gazes were level.  
  
"Sora, I. . . . I. . . ." Riku choked, looking his deepest friend straight in the eyes. "I love you."  
  
The brunet's mind spun out of control as a hurricane of memories barraged him once again, and his knees went weak.  
  
I. . . . I love you. . . .  
  
So long ago. . . .  
  
Oh god Riku. . . .  
  
Sora became trapped in a whirlwind of emotions, and his eyes watered over too much to see anything.  
  
All he could decipher in the midst of his confusion was one instinct.  
  
He knew there was only one more thing he had to do. Then he would be complete.  
  
He looked directly into the soul of his once-enemy.  
  
"I love you too," Sora whispered, and kissed Riku with all of his heart.  
  
The last thing he saw before his world went black was Riku's face.  
  
He was smiling.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
tbc?  
  
Again I want to thank all my wondeful reviewers: Ocean-eyed Songstress, Sora Otaku, Ryasha, Rinoki Rio, LeafKiD, and Lonely Cowboy. You guys mean so much to me. Especially right now.  
  
I just want to give a little credit to Chingy's One Call Away, which I was listening to while I wrote the last part of this. That song made me cry. 


	4. No One Can Fathom My Love For You

Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
Warnings: Some yaoi, weirdness, angsty, a little AU  
  
Part 4 of 4. This is the final part to this fic, and it was also the hardest for me to write. I did try to write sort of a lime. . . but. . . it didn't work out. Sorry. I know it's kinda short too, and not my best, but I felt I had to complete it somehow. Forgive me. . . .?  
  
Thank you -so- much to all my reviewers: Ryasha, Lonely Cowboy, duenna, Ocean-eyed Songstress, Rinoki Rio, Zee14, Smiley-chan, Sora Otaku, and LeafKiD. You guys have kept me going throughout this whole fic, and I owe you so much. Maybe I'll have to write more KingdomHearts sometime soon. . . . . . .  
  
Please read and review.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Sora was swirling around in a whirl of timeless shadows. He could've been there for days, weeks, months, but it was impossible to keep track. . . .  
  
. . . . .Not that it mattered any longer. . . . . . . .  
  
In his current state, Sora felt blissfully unaware of everything but a flying sensation and peace of mind. . . . .  
  
He knew in his heart. . . . his time was up.  
  
I. . . . I did it.  
  
It's finally all over. . . .  
  
Now. . . . I can rest. . . .  
  
Sora relievedly let his tear crusted eyelids drop. He had never looked forward so much to death before, but right now. . . .  
  
He was whole again.  
  
He had no more tasks to accomplish.  
  
It was all. . . . over. . . .  
  
Sora only felt one pang of regret as he readied himself for eternal sleep.  
  
I just wish. . . . I could've seen him. . . . one last time. . . .  
  
He slowly felt the warmth begin to seep out of him, starting with his feet. . . . .  
  
"No. . . . Sora. . . ." He thought he heard an echo, somewhere far away, but decided he must be imagining things. . . . .  
  
His blood had quickly begun to chill as the darkness ate away at it, and his legs went numb. . . .  
  
"We've still got a score to settle. . . . you're not getting away from me that easily. . . ." The sound came again, seeming to be coming from another world, outside Sora's own. . . . .  
  
Sora smiled lazily, as he lost the feeling in his hands and arms, and his thoughts flowed together into a dull absentmindedness. . . .  
  
"Yes. . . ." he breathed vaguely through quickly drying lips. "Always and forever. . . ."  
  
His breath rate and heartbeat began to slow. . . .  
  
"No. . . . please. . . ."  
  
Sora, barely concious now, managed to recognize the voice as Riku's. . . .  
  
" 'S okay, love," Sora slurred, his eyes unfocused. "Be happy, and remember me. . . ."  
  
He felt his head go cold, the only warmth now coming from his quickly freezing heart. . . . .  
  
"Byyyyye Rikuuuuuu. . . ." he called as he shed his very last tears, the echo of his sing-song voice lingering in the air, eyes closing, heart slowing. . . .  
  
Ba-dump. . . ba-dump. . . . . ba-dump. . . . . . . . ba-dump. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ba-dump. . . . . .  
  
Sora prepared to take his final breath, the whirls of black cooling his eyes, his soul. . . .  
  
. . . . . He inhaled. . . . . . . . . . . . . . then ex--  
  
"OH NO YOU DON'T! DAMNIT SORA, I LOVE YOU!"  
  
With a blinding flash of white light the brunet was wrenched back to life. A bloodcurdling screech, steadily getting louder, pierced his eardrums.  
  
Sora jolted upward abruptly, his entire body on fire.  
  
"RIKU!" he screamed in pain and confusion, before he was immediately knocked out with a burst of pain that pulsated through his head, and an angry flash of aquamarine. . . . . . .  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
The once Keyblade master moaned and cracked an eye open, only to immediately shut it again when he was blinded by golden sunlight.  
  
After a few more tries, he managed to regain his vision enough to hazily register his surroundings.  
  
A hot sun. . . . water. . . . and. . . . sand?  
  
This is. . . . familiar. . . . . . I know this place. . . . .  
  
. . . . . . Destiny Islands. . .?  
  
. . . Could this really be. . . . . my home?  
  
As he sat up and clutched his head he was hit with a wave of nausea, his world spinning for a few seconds.  
  
"S. . . Sora?"  
  
After finally regaining his senses, which were still dim, Sora looked around to see who had called his name, wincing as he did so.  
  
His entire body was cut, bruised, and aching.  
  
He shivered, skin suddenly very clammy.  
  
"Riku. . . .?" he asked weakly, his eyes landing on a blurry form flimsily propping itself up next to him.  
  
"Sora. . . . oh Sora. . . ." He felt his body being covered with warmth as he was enveloped in a weak hug.  
  
Sora cringed at first, but then noticed that the pain seemed to fade when he clutched the lithe body on top of him. He looked up blearily, smiling as his eyes met those of his soul mate's, who beamed back at him.  
  
"Sora. . . ." whispered Riku. Sora's eyes lit up shyly as his strength started to recover.  
  
"You. . . . you saved me. . . ."  
  
"I'll never let you out of my sight again," Riku growled softly.  
  
Sora smiled.  
  
They crushed their lips together.  
  
It was one of those moments that you couldn't dupicate for the world. Everything else halted, just to revolve around two boys on a beach in a tiny speck of the universe.  
  
Sora felt his heart warm his whole body from the inside out, glowing as his wounds healed over.  
  
He had been wrong before; death wasn't the answer.  
  
Only now. . . . . -now-, he was whole.  
  
They say true love only happens once in a million years. . . . .  
  
As Sora looked up into shimmering, care-filled orbs, he decided something.  
  
And you know what?  
  
Screw them.  
  
I guess next year will be one million and one.  
  
Riku climbed flush on top of Sora, completely banishing all other thoughts from the younger boy's mind. He thrust his tongue into his love's mouth desperately, afraid that if he ever let go, Ansem would wake him up from this perfect dream.  
  
The brunet let Riku take control completely, not wanting to make him feel dominated or uncomfortable.  
  
Sora knew perfection was a lie, but he wanted to believe in it so much. . . . . .  
  
They pulled away, and gazed at each other in silence for a few minutes.  
  
Then, suddenly, Riku began to laugh.  
  
He laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world, tears streaming down his cheeks, and clasped Sora to him.  
  
The brunet looked up into the silver-haired boys water-filled eyes in astonishment.  
  
He. . . . he's actually. . . . laughing? Out of. . . . . happiness?  
  
Sora listened to the beautiful, carefree sound with wonder. . . . .  
  
And began to laugh himself.  
  
He was suddenly filled with elation, and he and Riku began to roll around over and over in the sand.  
  
They rolled up the beach and down the beach, in and out of the water, caring about nothing but they fact that they were in each other's arms again. . . . .  
  
Sora eventually landed on the bottom and looked up at the clear blue sky with a sigh of deep contentment, interrupted when Riku, his fits of laughter having subsided, planted kisses all over his face and neck. But when their eyes met, the older boy started to chuckle again.  
  
By the time the sun had set, they were covered in grit, and had each memorized the majority of the curves on the other's body, having left their hands free to roam. They had calmed down, and were content with the sereneness of the atmosphere.  
  
A magical red-orange light was cast over the beach, reflecting off the water. The gulls called softly in the distance, and the waves gently carressed the shoreline.  
  
Sora settled into the soft sand, and Riku snuggled in next to him. Their shoes and Sora's jacket had been discarded some time ago, and their shirts and other clothing hung quite loose, but it only served to further their intoxication with each other.  
  
Clinging together, every piece of available flesh touching, both gazed up in peace.  
  
After everything they had been through, all the pain, and the heartache. . . . . .  
  
It was all in the past.  
  
. . . . . . They were finally home. . . . . .  
  
"Riku?" asked Sora quietly after a while.  
  
"Hm?" Riku buried his face in the crook of Sora's neck and nuzzled it fondly.  
  
". . . . . What happens now?"  
  
The larger boy looked up into the unsure eyes of his love.  
  
"Well," he said thoughtfully. "We'll have to face the others tomorrow, which means your mom'll probably make that nasty coconut soup in celebration. . . ." Sora nudged him playfully.  
  
"You know what I mean."  
  
Riku sighed.  
  
"Yeah, I do. . . . but. . . ."  
  
"But what?" Sora urged worriedly. Riku turned to him and smiled.  
  
"Never mind, Sora." The brunet pouted.  
  
"You never tell me anything."  
  
"Well, ask me something else then," said Riku, avoiding the subject.  
  
"Okay," Sora whispered. Riku immediately regretted his words. "I want to know--"  
  
"Please don't bring that up again," the silver-haired boy said, looking away and tensing up, his eyes clouded with hurt. "I. . . . can't tell you why I turned against you. . . . it's. . . . too complicated. . . ."  
  
Sora reached out and gently turned Riku's head back towards him.  
  
"You know I wouldn't ever say anything about that," the once Keyblade master said, looking Riku straight in the eyes very seriously. Then his gaze softened. "I just wanted to know. . . . how long you've loved me. . . . ."  
  
Riku's body relaxed slightly, and he considered the question for a moment.  
  
"Well. . . . I guess I did from the beginning." Sora blinked in surprise. "But I didn't figure it out until that day, when you came to me and I. . . . I almost. . . ." Riku looked at Sora with deep remorse, eyes watering slightly. "I'm so sorry."  
  
Sora. . . didn't know how to reply to that. He sat in silence for a long while.  
  
I'm confused. . . . . and I don't even know what I'm confused about.  
  
All this time, Riku loved me. . . . . and what we almost did in the secret place, we were so young for. . . . .  
  
Shouldn't I be feeling. . . . . angry, for what he did to me?  
  
Or irritated because of him?  
  
Or. . . . . -something-?  
  
. . . . . . . I'm not.  
  
And you know what?  
  
I think that, even if I had given myself to him then and there. . . . . .  
  
I'd still have no regrets.  
  
As much as I don't like to admit it. . . . . I belong to him now.  
  
And someday soon. . . . . I'll prove it.  
  
At the brunet's stillness, Riku tentively slid his body away from Sora's in sadness and apology, but then Sora suddenly looked up, his eyes twinkling.  
  
"It's. . . . okay," he said slowly. Riku blinked.  
  
"Sora. . . I would've raped you," he said in disgust at himself.  
  
The once Keyblade master paused for a moment, then smiled.  
  
"And I would've loved every moment of it," he whispered. "But, you know. . . ." he continued, his breath tickling Riku's ear. "I like to finish what's started." He started to kiss him gently.  
  
Riku's eyes smiled in knowing relief at his love's eagerness and managed to softly divert Sora's kisses onto his own lips.  
  
When they pulled away to breath Riku tilted his forehead onto Sora's and whispered, "As much as I would love nothing more than to ravish you for the next five hours," Sora looked up at him with hazy eyes, and the silver- haired boy smiled back softly. "Now is not the time."  
  
Sora's frowned with disappointment. But, after thinking it over a bit, he decided that the other was right, and cuddled up to him with a sigh.  
  
"Soon, my love," Riku breathed into Sora's hair. "Soon."  
  
They sat for a few minutes in silence, staring out across the ocean.  
  
"I can't believe I wanted to look so far," Riku whispered to himself. "When all I could ever want was right here in front of me."  
  
Sora smiled and regarded Riku for a moment, his eyes glazed, the sun reflecting off his smooth skin, his hair shimmering.  
  
Perfect.  
  
"You never answered my question," Sora reminded him gently after a few seconds. "Please, you have to tell me. . . . . what happens now?"  
  
Riku looked into the brunet's eyes for a moment, then sighed, lips twitching upward. He pulled Sora into his arms and held him against his chest lovingly.  
  
"Now. . . . . we live happily ever after," the elder boy said.  
  
Sora raised his eyebrows at Riku good-naturedly. "And how do you know that?"  
  
Riku smiled softly and brushed a stray hair out of Sora's eyes. "Because, beautiful," he whispered. Sora blushed. "Some hearts last forever."  
  
Then Riku leaned down and kissed Sora.  
  
And Sora kissed him right back.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
~The End~  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
They say that cold hearts last forever  
  
And that soft ones never do  
  
But now that we are back together  
  
No one can fathom my love for you  
  
~Riku x Sora~ ---Forever--- 


End file.
